Would next governor support state takeover of Dayton schools? Here’s what the candidates say

Candidate platforms on Ohio school takeover law (From candidate interviews):

Rich Cordray, Democrat: End state takeovers of low-performing school districts, instead providing additional resources while maintaining local control.

Mike DeWine, Republican: Consider revising takeover law to provide help to struggling schools while keeping the community involved in the process.

Travis Irvine, Libertarian: End any effort to bring control of schools under the state.

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Dayton Public School officials will be watching closely to see what the next governor does with the state’s takeover law, which was pushed by Republican Gov. John Kasich and passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2015.

Under the law’s mandates, DPS will be subject to a state takeover next fall if it receives another overall grade of F on next September’s district report cards.

“Instead of taking over local school districts, leaders in the Statehouse should be providing communities with the support and resources to ensure that every child in Ohio has the opportunity to get a quality education,” he said in a statement to this news organization.

“As governor, I’ll work to improve public education in Ohio by ending the over-testing of students, working to attract great teachers, and by holding for-profit charter school scams like ECOT accountable for the tax dollars they’ve siphoned away from public schools.”

In a recent interview, Republican candidate Mike DeWine said he is “very open to discussion about the best way” to handle failing districts, though he did not say he would push to reverse the takeover mandate.

Three school districts in Ohio have been placed under state control since the law was passed.

“I’ve been in Lorain, I’ve been in Youngstown,” DeWine said of the two districts that have been under state control the longest. “I know there’s a real divergence of opinion, and I know that school board, they feel like they have been pushed aside. What we want to do is give those schools the help they need, but at the same time keep the community involved in the schools.”